From the author of the cult favorite Pro Cycling on $10 a Day and Ask a Pro, the story of one man’s quest to realize his childhood dream, and what happened when he actually did it. Like countless other kids, Phil Gaimon grew up dreaming of being a professional athlete. But unlike countless other kids, he actually pulled it off. After years of amateur races, hard training, living out of a suitcase, and never taking “no” for an answer, he finally achieved his goal and signed a contract to race professionally on one of the best teams in the world.

Now, Gaimon pulls back the curtain on the WorldTour, cycling’s highest level. He takes readers along for his seasons in Europe, covering everything from rabid, water-bottle-stealing Belgian fans, to contract renewals, to riding in poisonous smog, to making friends in a sport plagued by doping. Draft Animals reveals a story as much about bike racing as it is about the never-ending ladder of achieving goals, failure, and finding happiness if you land somewhere in-between.

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Recensione

"As a cycling fan, I was completely captivated by Gaimon’s book, and I churned through all 320 pages in one day...[Gaimon] has tremendous insight into this very strange period in the sport’s history and recounts the emotional and psychological fallout from each success and failure...Draft Animals is a blatant attack on cycling’s culture of silence." —Velonews

"Draft Animals is written with raw honesty. . . More than anything else, [Gaimon] makes you want to go jump on a bike right now." —Sports Illustrated

"An easy read that had me laughing and crying . . . At the end of the book, Gaimon had changed my opinion on what I thought it was like to be a professional rider and he had done so in an eloquent and engaging way." —Cyclist

“[Gaimon] shares the emotional roller coaster of long-distance relationships and the stresses of securing contracts with race teams. Highly recommended for anyone interested in cycling, this is a candid account from an outspoken cyclist who pursued his career with passion, a sense of humor, and integrity.” —Booklist

"I enjoyed reading Draft Animals. It's a colourful and personal take on life in the professional peloton, and Phil Gaimon writes with an easy and honest style. If you take one thing away from the book, it's that nothing's really black and white: some people cheat at sport and are otherwise genuine and pleasant human beings, some people are completely righteous in their attitude to fair sport and inscrutable in their personal and business relationships, and the resulting mess is hard to navigate." —Road.cc

L'autore

Phil Gaimon retired from laziness and computer games in 2004 and began riding a bike to lose weight. Now, after a long career as a pro cyclist, including two years in the WorldTour, he’s dedicated himself to sharing joy—through books, a cookie-themed Fondo in Malibu, Strava hunts on a YouTube channel, and podcasts.

Le recensioni clienti più utili su Amazon.com

5,0 su 5 stelleGreat book if you are into pro cycling, but much less accessible if you are not

12 ottobre 2017 - Pubblicato su Amazon.com

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This book is best if you have already followed professional cycling for a while, because many of the personalities, references, annecdotes and "inside jokes" simply will not resonate much if you haven't. In some ways, this book reminds me of Joe Parkin's "Dog in a Hat" (great book), but brought forward to the contemporary professional cycling scene and told in Gaimon's inimitable style. He has a clear perspective of his former profession, and generally isn't afraid to pull punches; if you've read his other books, you know where his punches will land. Further, for better or worse, he isn't afraid to let his personality show through in his writing, and in many places the writing descends to just above locker room humor. Above all, it offers a different perspective on pro cycling by somebody who knows how to write and isn't afraid to step on toes and take on any number of heroes (some of whom have their own books, so you can decide who to believe). This isn't great literature, and maybe it is just a glorified string of blog entries, but it is very entertaining, which is why I give it 5 stars. What's hardest to judge from the book is the fairness to Gaimon's own career. It's more honest/clear-headed than some of his other writing about whether he could have really made on the World Tour, but sometimes it seems that he just had a few axes to grind, and this book was the place to do it.

Solid, easy read. Highly engaging, especially for those familiar with the sport, and at times starkly hilarious. Gaimon's commentary is witty and tack-sharp, and the book demonstrates the author's evolution as a writer since his first work, but also his seemingly-amplified cynicism. The first two-thirds are outstanding, while the last chapters seemed to be rushed, superficial, and glossed-over, with a rather hollow conclusion he seems to have brought on himself. Unfortunately, the author seems to throw quite a few people under the bus for various reasons while constantly reminding the reader that he's good enough to be a professional cyclist, and I found myself losing some respect for Gaimon by the end of the book. The moral gymnastics he engages in throughout the work ultimately seemed to be part of his undoing as an athlete.

That said, a good read for someone excited about pro cycling who can stomach a huge pile of dick jokes and negativity.

If you ever had daydreams about what it would be like to join the big leagues of cycling, but never quite got around to it, here's your chance to hear what it would really be like. Most of us could only dream of having power numbers like Phil, but he tells us how little that ability really means in a world where incredible talent is so commonplace that it's treated like a fungible commodity. The specter of doping hangs over everyone, both because it was once so common that many recent stars were known to have engaged in it, and because of the shadow of doubt that it has left over everyone who succeeds today. Phil tells the in truth about what he knows and his suspicions, which are ones that everyone who follows pro cycling is already well acquainted with. Phil also shows the toll that the pro cycling life can take on one's personal life, because it's a dream that consumes everything, including all your other dreams. I think perhaps the most insightful thing he describes is his decision to stop chasing the dream, despite the fact that he clearly has the talent to ride with the best. He got to live the dream for a while, but realized there were more dreams left to chase, and he's getting on with that now. I wish him the very best of luck, and hope I get to meet him again, hopefully somewhere other than on the starting line of an Atlanta crit.

I was in the midst of a cycling book binge. I started off with Mark Cavendish's "At Speed". While I was halfway through, I decided to order Draft Animals thinking that it would just be next in my queue. I read the intro to Draft Animals when I received the book. As they say in cycling, Cavs ended up getting dropped. I couldn't put Draft Animals down. Despite the fact that Mark Cavendish and Phil Gaimon's careers were on very different trajectories, both went through the school of the hard knocks. The reason why I totally gravitated towards Draft Animals is the way Phil presented his experience. It was engaging, hilarious, and self-deprecating. If you've ever seen Phil's YouTube videos or listened to his podcasts, the book reflects his personality. A lot of books about pro cyclists tend to revolve around their races. Draft Animals is much more behind the scenes and a brutally honest reflection of what life is like as a pro cyclist. I really enjoyed the book. Just for this book, the rating system should be in cookies instead of stars. This book deserves a 5 chocolate-chip cookie rating. (If you don't get the why cookies should be used instead, read the book and be entertained.)

Draft Animals is an insider’s view of pro cycling. Phil exposes the gritty reality of it and it’s brutally honest and candid. I’m shocked at some of the things Phil says but I love it. I couldn’t put this book down. He explains a lot of stuff that I’ve wondered about. You get the story behind the partial story that the public has heard. This book is also funny but if you follow Phil that’s to be expected. What I didn’t expect is how genuinely touching and emotional it is too. The book has a lot of heart. If you’re a fan of pro cycling you MUST read this book because it’s the best of the genre. I’ll also add that I met Phil a few years ago at a charity ride and he’s a damn nice guy.